Athletic sports shoe with cleated scaffold that dissociates from the underside of the shoe to reduce/prevent knee injury

ABSTRACT

Footwear, such as a sports shoe, that has a cleated scaffold that attaches to an underside of a sole of the shoe body of footwear because of an attachment mechanism. The mechanism has cooperative components arranged to engage each other when in alignment to allow the cleated scaffold and shoe body to move in unison and in the absence of a critical pivoting force. When a critical pivoting force arises, such as when the cleats remain fixed in position in a manner that resists their movement in unison with the shoe body, the scaffold dissociates from the shoe body in order to reduce/prevent knee injury.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to any shoe (for example, an athletic cleat) that is composed of two separate components that can detach from one another in order to reduce/prevent knee injury to the wearer.

Discussion of Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 9,273,827 mentions:

-   -   Many injuries . . . are caused by situations where a foot is         pinned to the ground while a person continues forward movements         . . . . Normally the event happens so fast that by the time a         person wearing the shoe or boot is aware of pain, the damage is         done.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,273,827 goes on to describe a counterforce technique. The present inventors contend that from the standpoint of a musculoskeletal radiologist, the use of the counterforce technique in U.S. Pat. No. 9,273,827 would actually result in increased injuries based on biomechanics. Instead of pursuing such a technique based on a counter force, it seems preferable to the present inventors to allow the original force to take the leg in the direction it naturally wants to travel.

The present inventors are aware of medical studies on cadaveric knees to determine how much internal torque is required to tear an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). They found that somewhere between 10-20 N-m of internal torque tore most ACLs. They also found that when most ACLs are torn, there is a downward force on the foot of about 360 lbs for the average man.

According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,559, a rotating platform may be applied to the underside of footwear. Its purpose would be

-   -   . . . for minimizing injury to the wearer from twisting or         turning movements which may occur during sporting activities,         and/or for enhancing performance by assisting rotational         movement of the foot.

The purpose of a cleat is to allow the athlete to plant into the ground and it is normal to then have a bit of a rotational force (but you don't want the foot to move). Having a rotating platform would not be appealing to the athlete, as it would introduce an unnatural motion of spinning around (seemingly even with normal movements). Although this potentially could reduce the risk of injury, it is different from how the present inventors envision their cleat to function to reduce injury.

Preferably, the cleat should function exactly how a standard cleat functions under normal circumstances. However, when the foot is both planted and there is a significant rotational force, the front spikes would dissociate, preventing injury. An ACL tear is the most devastating knee injury in sports. It occurs most commonly from a pivot shift injury (planted foot with a rotational force). The mechanism envisioned by the present inventors stops pivot shift injuries.

Knee injuries often occur in sports where cleats are used in a downward force oriented relatively perpendicular to the ground by the athlete's own weight, resulting in planting of the cleats to varying degrees into the dirt, followed by a significant pivoting force around the planted foot. Mild twisting will stress the ligaments of the knee but will result in no actual injury. Moderate twisting will result in ligamentous sprains. Severe twisting will result in torn ligaments. It would be desirable to devise a mechanism that prevents such injury such as a torn ACL in the event such pivoting forces arise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a mechanism in a sports shoe that prevents or minimizes injury from rotative or twisting forces. It does this by dissociating a detachable component from the sports shoe in response to a rotative or twisting force imposed on the foot that exceeds a threshold of safety to avoid knee injury.

The detachable component (henceforth referred to as the “scaffold”) is affixed to the front portion of the sole of the shoe. The scaffold is able to detach when a downward, as well as a rotational force is applied. The scaffold component can easily be reattached to the remainder of the shoe after the rotational event, such that both components return to their original orientation. The scaffold can be used to affix a variety of materials to the shoe, including but not limited to spikes (as in the example of an athletic cleat), rubber (for example, to create a sneaker with this functionality), or any other materials depending on the desired practical function of the shoe.

The scaffold and shoe can be attached to one another through a variety of mechanisms. The commonality of these attachment mechanisms is that they maintain attachment under normal playing conditions, but allow for dissociation when a pivot shift type force (downward force and rotational force at the same time) is applied to the foot. Proposed mechanisms for attachment include: industrial strength fabric meshes of interlocking hooks and pile (VELCRO), magnetic contact points, deformable locking pins, interlocking snaps, curved strips and recesses and an interlocking pin and snap, a spring that exerts a spring force, and a locking mechanism similar to what is commonly used in spin biking.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings, while the scope of the invention is set forth in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a lateral (side) view in accordance with an embodiment of an athletic sports shoe that has a cleated scaffold attached via fabric meshes of dense hooks and dense loops that interlock.

FIG. 2 is a view of the bottom of the athletic sports shoe of FIG. 1 with the cleated scaffold attached.

FIG. 3 is an isometric bottom view of the athletic sports shoe of FIG. 1 with the cleated scaffold detached.

FIGS. 4-6 are progressive views of the athletic sports shoe with the cleated scaffold to show how the cleated scaffold separates from the athletic sports shoe during use.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a further embodiment of an athletic sports shoe with a magnetic scaffold attachment mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the further embodiment of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a cross section taken across section 9-9 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of an additional embodiment of an athletic sports shoe with a cleated scaffold attached via an attachment mechanism having curved strips and curved recesses that engage each other in a sliding manner and a snap and a pin that engage in a retaining manner.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the additional embodiment of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a cross section taken across section 12-12 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a cross section taken across section 13-13 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a cross section taken across section 14-14 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 15 is an isometric view of one variation of an embodiment of an athletic sports shoe with a scaffold attached via a snap and pin mechanism.

FIG. 16 is a bottom view of the additional embodiment of FIG. 10.

FIG. 17 is a cross section taken across section 12-12 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 18 is an isometric view of a different variation of an embodiment of an athletic sports shoe with a cleated scaffold attached via a detachable snap and pin mechanism.

FIG. 19 is a bottom view of the additional embodiment of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a cross section taken across section 20-20 of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is an isometric view of metal spring embodiment of an athletic sports shoe with a cleated scaffold attached via a metal spring.

FIG. 22 is a bottom view of the additional embodiment of FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is a cross section taken across section 23-23 of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is an isometric view of sliding cover embodiment of an athletic sports shoe with a cleated scaffold attached via a slide away cover.

FIG. 25 is a bottom view of the additional embodiment of FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is a cross section taken across section 26-26 of FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is an elevational view of a testing apparatus that is to be used to determine the force at which the spikes came apart from the shoe.

FIG. 28 is a top view of the testing apparatus of FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is an isometric view of the testing apparatus of FIG. 27-28 prior to rotation of a lever.

FIG. 30 is an isometric view of the testing apparatus of FIG. 27-28 after rotation of the lever.

FIG. 31 is an isometric view of a plastic mold having holes to accommodate insertion of cleats.

FIG. 32 is an isometric view of the testing apparatus of FIGS. 27-28 but with the cleats of the athletic sports shoe in the holes of the plastic mold that is secured.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The current invention requires that both a downward force and a rotational force occur about the foot in order for the scaffold component to dissociate from the remainder of shoe at a critical amount of torque. Research studies have shown that ligamentous injury about the knee tends to occur when a rotational force of greater than 20-25 N-m occurs. This invention requires that the two components stay married at forces less than 20-25 N-m, but dissociate at forces greater than 20-25 N-m.

Given the importance of having light weight athletic cleats, the mechanism of attachment of the scaffold to the remainder of the shoe must be light and sleek. The favored mechanism is industrial strength interlocking hook and file fabric under the tradename VELCRO. In accordance with the present invention the front spikes can dissociate from the remainder of the athletic sports shoe in order to prevent knee injury.

Turning to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6, an athletic sports shoe 10 includes an athletic sports shoe 10 and a cleated scaffold 20. The latter attaches to an underside of a sole of the former by a kind of fabric mesh attachment mechanism 30, namely, with opposing meshes of fabric. That is, one piece 32 of the fabric mesh 30 has a dense arrangement of tiny nylon hooks in a conventional manner and the other piece 34 has a dense nylon pile, which may form tiny loops in a conventional manner. The meshes of hooks and pile interlock with each other when pressed together. The cleated scaffold is a detachable piece that has cleats the protrude from its underside.

In use, consider a situation of FIG. 4 in which the cleated scaffold 20 is fixed to the ground in a manner that resists moving in unison with the athletic sports shoe 10. Thereafter, the wearer of the sports shoe imparts an excessive twisting force such that, if left unchecked, will cause injury to the wearer's knee because the cleated scaffold 20 will not yield to the force and instead will remain fixed in position in the ground. As shown in FIG. 5, the athletic sports shoe 10 rotates relative to the cleated scaffold 20 in response to the imparting of the excessive twisting force, but reaches a relative position with respect to the cleated scaffold at which the cleated sports shoe separates from the scaffold in the manner of FIG. 6 and the hook and pile meshes release from each other to become free.

If desired, the amount of the hook and pile meshes on the scaffold to interlock can be adjusted in order to alter the force at which the cleated scaffold 20 dissociates from the athletic sports shoe 10.

Turning to the further embodiment of FIGS. 7-9, a magnetic attachment mechanism 40 used to connect the cleated scaffold 20 to the underside of the athletic sports shoe 10. This magnetic attachment mechanism 40 differs from that of the fabric mesh attachment mechanism 30 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6 in that multiple small magnets 42 are attached to the scaffold (arrows). These interact with magnetic contact points 44 in the athletic sports shoe 10. The number and strength of the magnets could be adjusted in order alter the force at which the scaffold dissociates from the scaffold or detachable piece (which has the cleats).

An additional embodiment of FIGS. 10-14 shows an attachment mechanism 50 having curved strips 52 and curved recesses 54 that engage each other in a sliding manner and a snap recess 56 and a pin 58 that align to engage in a retaining manner.

With respect to two embodiments, namely, that of FIGS. 15-17 and of FIGS. 18-20, respective snap and pin attachment mechanisms 60, 70 are used to connect the cleated scaffold 20 or detachable piece to the underside of the athletic sports shoe 10. In both of these mechanisms, a pivot shift force causes deformation of the snap 62, 72 or pin 64, 76, resulting in detachment of the cleated scaffold 20. The number of snaps 62, 72 or pins 64, 76 could be adjusted in order to alter the force at which the scaffold dissociates from the cleat. FIGS. 15-17 and FIGS. 18-20 show different variations of how the snap could potentially be designed.

FIGS. 21-23 show a metal spring attachment mechanism 80 in use to attach the cleated scaffold 20 to an underside of the athletic sports shoe 10. The spring 82 of the metal spring attachment mechanism 80 can tolerate a certain amount of force exerted by pressure against a configuration 84, but will release prior to the critical pivoting force being reached. A snap 56 and pin 58 are used in alignment with each other to snap fasten together as the spring 82 is compressed under pressure by the configuration 84 with the cleated scaffold 20 retained to the underside of the front portion of the sole of the athletic sports shoe 10.

FIGS. 24-26 depict use of a slide away cover mechanism 90. The shape of the mechanism 90 is designed in such a way that encourages release of the cleated scaffold 20 with a pivot shift type force. The pivoted scaffold 20 may have a grooved rim 92 that fits onto a wavy shaped rim 94 of the underside of the front portion of the sole of the athletic sports shoe 10.

FIGS. 27-28 depict a testing apparatus 100 that may be used to help test how much torque the cleated scaffold could withstand before breaking away from the rest of the cleat. It simulates a cleat planted in grass. The test procedure is explained as follows.

First phase: A weight 102 is attached to one end of a lever beam 104 in order to create 360 lbs of downward pressure. A vertical metal rod 106 of 36 cm in length was used to represent the average length of a man's lower leg bone, which is 36 cm. Attached to the top of the vertical metal rod 106 is a place for a torque meter so as to apply and measure an internal torque. The vertical metal rod 106 was then attached to a shaped piece of wood 110 (in the shape of an adult foot) that had cooperative fabric meshes attached to the underside. On the wooden platform 112, the corresponding cleated scaffold 20 is attached thereto via cooperative fabric meshes. The cooperative fabric meshes complement each other to effect attachment, e.g., interlocking hooks and pile.

A torque wrench 108 (with torque meter) is attached to the top of the vertical metal rod 106. A manual force is applied to the torque wrench 108 in an effort to pivot the vertical metal rod 106 from the orientation of FIG. 29 to the orientation of FIG. 30 and thereby rotate the piece of wood 110 in the shape of an adult foot. The torque meter indicates the torque applied to do so.

Second phase: Thereafter, the vertical metal rod 106 is attached to the fully developed cleat in the manner shown in FIG. 31. The cleated scaffold is positioned so that the cleats insert into corresponding openings in the plastic mold 120 of FIG. 32. The plastic mold 120 is used to simulate what would happen when a person wearing the cleats would plant the cleats into grass. The torque wrench 108 of FIGS. 29-30 may be attached in a like manner to determine the torque attained at the time of dissociation of the scaffold from the shoe.

In both phases of testing, the amount of fabric meshes of interlocking hooks and pile (VELCRO) are tailored to achieve the correct point at which the scaffold 20 dissociates from the shoe 10. It is preferable that the scaffold 20 dissociate from the shoe 10 when a pivoting force is exerted from the shoe relative to the scaffold that is within twenty-five percent below a magnitude of the critical pivoting force that is capable of tearing the ACL. Since medical literature has shown that most ACLs tear at a twisting force of 20-25 (the threshold or critical force) one may design the shoe to dissociate from the scaffold at a force just below this range, let's say 18, which is 20% below the twisting force of 20. Forces below or weaker than 18 would keep the components together. Forces stronger or greater than 18 would cause the components to come apart.

While the athletic sports shoe is mentioned throughout, any kind of footwear may be equipped with any of the mechanisms mentioned. Indeed, the mechanisms are designed with pairs of cooperative components that, when in alignment with each other, retain the scaffold to the underside of the sole of the shoe body of the footwear provided there is an absence of a critical pivoting force. The critical pivoting force is one capable of tearing an anterior cruciate ligament of the person wearing the shoe.

However, the pairs of the cooperative components are configured and arranged to allow for dissociation of the scaffold from the underside of the sole of the footwear when the cleats of the scaffold become planted to resist movement of the scaffold in unison with the shoe and a critical pivoting force is about to be reached.

Depending upon the embodiment, the cooperative components are the interlocking hook and pile, the interlocking snap and pin, the magnets and magnetic contacts that attract each other, the curved strips and the recesses that slide one into another, and the metal spring that exerts a spring force against another cooperative component. All such cooperative components are structured and operative in a conventional manner to effect attachment. Their release from attachment depends upon the strength of their retention force to remain in an attached state so that they enter a non-cooperative position. Thus, the concept is to configure the cooperative components to give way or release or detach from each other in response to a pivoting force whose magnitude is approaching that of being equal to or greater than the critical pivoting force, which would otherwise be likely to lead to knee injury if reached. In some embodiments, the cooperative components may complement each other and may engage each other.

Depending upon the critical pivoting force that is chosen, the shoe customer may be presented with purchasing with multiple scaffolds that differ from each other. For example, one scaffold would dissociate very close to the critical force based on medical lab studies (this would be least likely to come off during normal play, but also have the greatest risk of ACL injury). Another scaffold would be the recommended version (striking the best balance between injury prevention and dissociation during normal play). Yet another scaffold would dissociate at a lower force of the other two, which would make it more likely to come off during normal game play, but also afford the greatest degree of protection.

It is well studied from numerous medical literature publications that there are multiple risk factors for ACL tears. However, the medical literature is relatively sparse as to the threshold or critical internal twisting force required to tear an ACL, ranging from values of 10 to 33 N-m. Thus, there is some uncertainty as to the range of torques that constitute the critical pivoting force that, if reached, leads to ACL tears.

In accordance with the testing of the present invention, the inventors wanted to see if a cleated scaffold could be made that dissociated from the shoe based on any of these values for critical pivoting force. For instance, with respect to their first interlocking hooks and pile (VELCRO) layout, dissociation occurred at around 35 N-m. The inventors then trimmed the interlocking hooks and pile (VELCRO) a bit and achieved dissociation at 20-25 N-m. The inventors then trimmed it further and achieved dissociation around 15 N-m. Therefore, the inventors know that this invention can achieve dissociation based upon the range of forces cited in the literature.

There may well be a threshold/critical force at which the ACL tears and that it is variable based on the individual. Because of this, the invention can be designed variably in order to adjust the strength at which the cooperating components remain attached. The concept is to provide a cleated scaffold and shoe with cooperating components for which the scaffold dissociates from the shoe below a critical force in order to reduce ACL injuries while at the same time remaining attached during typical/normal gameplay.

While the foregoing description and drawings represent the preferred embodiments of the present invention, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. Footwear having a detachable cleated scaffold, comprising: a shoe; a scaffold having cleats; a mechanism with pairs of cooperative components that are movable between operative and non-operative positions; wherein with the pairs of the cooperative components being in the operative position, the scaffold tends to move in unison with the shoe; wherein with the pairs of the cooperative components moving from the operative position to the non-operative position, the scaffold dissociates from the shoe; and wherein the pairs of the cooperative components move into the non-operative position from the operative position because of exertion of a pivoting force onto the cooperative components as the scaffold becomes planted to resist moving in unison with the shoe, the pivoting force emanating from the shoe.
 2. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the cooperative components of the mechanism are fabric hooks and pile that interlock with each other to allow the shoe and scaffold to move in unison with each other and that separate from each other to dissociate the scaffold from the shoe.
 3. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the cooperative components of the mechanism are magnets and magnetic contacts that attract each other under magnetic force to allow the shoe and scaffold to move in unison with each other and that separate from each other to dissociate the scaffold from the shoe.
 4. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the cooperative components of the mechanism are snaps and pins that interlock with each other to allow the shoe and scaffold to move in unison with each other and that separate from each other to dissociate the scaffold from the shoe.
 5. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the cooperative components of the mechanism are curved strips and curved recesses that engage each other in a sliding manner and a pin and snap that interlocks to allow the shoe and scaffold to move in unison with each other and that separate from each other to dissociate the scaffold from the shoe.
 6. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the cooperative components of the mechanism include a spring as one of the cooperative components that exerts a spring force against another of the cooperative components to allow the shoe and scaffold to move in unison with each other and that separate from each other to dissociate the scaffold from the shoe.
 7. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the cooperative components of the mechanism include a grooved rim and a wavy shaped rim to allow the shoe and scaffold to move in unison with each other and that separate from each other to dissociate the scaffold from the shoe.
 8. The footwear of claim 1 in combination with a testing apparatus configured to test the mechanism for making a determination as to whether the scaffold dissociates from the shoe from exertion of the pivoting force so that adjusting the cooperative components of the mechanism as a result of the determination finding that the scaffold fails to dissociate from exertion of the pivoting force enables the scaffold to dissociate from the shoe from exertion of the pivoting force.
 9. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the scaffold is selected from a set of at least three scaffolds each having a differing amount of the cooperative components from that of each other so as to differ from each other with respect to an amount of the pivoting force necessary to cause the selected scaffold to dissociate from the shoe.
 10. A method of forming footwear having a detachable cleated scaffold, comprising the steps of: moving pairs of cooperative components of a mechanism between an operative position and a non-operative position; wherein a scaffold moves in unison with a shoe provided the pairs of the cooperative components remain in the operative position; wherein the scaffold dissociates from the shoe as the cooperative components move from the operative position to the non-operative position; and wherein an exertion of a pivoting force that emanates from the shoe as the scaffold remains stationary causes the moving of the pairs of the cooperating components from the operative position to the non-operative position, the scaffold remaining stationary because cleats of the scaffold become planted to resist moving the scaffold in unison with the shoe.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising testing the mechanism with a testing apparatus to make a determination as to whether the scaffold dissociates from the shoe from exertion of the pivoting force and adjusting the cooperative components of the mechanism as a result of the determination finding that the scaffold fails to dissociate from exertion of the pivoting force so as to thereafter enable the scaffold to dissociate from the shoe from exertion of the pivoting force.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: selecting the scaffold from a set of at least three scaffolds each having a differing amount of the cooperative components from that of each other so as to differ from each other with respect to an amount of the pivoting force necessary to cause the selected scaffold to dissociate from the shoe. 